A cat and a princess
by Baguette Me Not
Summary: (For MariChat May) Yes, I've started this late, but you know what they say? It's better late then never.
1. Day 1: Day 1: You're injured, please sta

**"** **Is that blood?"**

 **"** **No?"**

 **"** **Chat, that's not a question you're supposed to answer with another question."**

 **(This chapter contains mentions of blood).**

 **—**

On Marinette's mission for fabric, she did not expect to come face to face with a thief in an alleyway.

Perhaps that's why it happened.

To a normal teenager, this thief would have definitely freaked them out. But to her, the hooded figure was not entirely threatening in the grand scheme of things. No, Ladybug had been in far worse situations than this. Far, far worse.

However, at the moment she was Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

A normal teenager.

A civillian.

Not her spandex-covered alter ego.

So if she decided to give this guy a roundhouse kick, it would certainly raise some questions if word got out. _How did a baker's daughter stop a fully grown adult? Does she take Karate? Hey, don't you think she looks a little like Ladybug?_

And BOOM! Ladybug's identity wouldn't be so secret anymore.

 _Then her parents and friends could be kidnapped by Hawkmoth who would then demand for her miraculous in return for her parents return so she would have to go to his creepy weird secret lair that most villains like him would have and end up having to give up her miraculous which meant no more Tikki and GOODBYE WORLD BECAUSE OH MON DIEU HE WOULD PROBABLY USE HER EARRINGS AND CHAT'S RING FOR WORLD DOMINATION OR SOMETHING!_

Jeez, that was a mouthful.

"Alright kid, just hand over your purse and all of your other valuables so you can be on your way," The gravely voice snapped Marinette out of her internal conflict and into the present.

She was about to be robbed.

This robber wanted her **purse** and **earrings**.

Said purse currently had an anxious kwami inside. An anxious kwami who was about to become property of a common thief.

Hmm… a tall, shady, middle-aged man who liked to steal from teenaged girls.

Not exactly Ladybug worthy.

Marinette hesitantly placed a hand to her small, pink bag, more than aware that the man was growing ever more impatient. She needed time. A distraction. Just something so she could escape!

"Are you deaf or something? Gimme your stuff kid!"

"Hmm, how about no?" Marinette gasped, that voice was certainly not _hers_. Familiar though-

"Chat Noir?!" Oh yeah. That guy. "Look, I don't want any trouble, sir!"

The cat in question raised a brow as he hopped down into the alleyway. His usually cheerful and unique eyes were now glinting with a dangerous edge to them. "Then I suggest that you leave this girl alone."

The stranger shuffled uncomfortably, as if analysing his situation. Then, decidedly giving up on the situation altogether, he ran for it. The pitter-patter of his shoes on the concrete could be heard for all of ten seconds, before he disappeared into the lively streets of Paris.

Marinette suddenly felt Chat's gaze as he directed his attention to her. Now he bore a concerned look - far less terrifying than the glare he'd given the thief just seconds before.

"Marinette, right?"

"Mhm," The girl nodded, voice apparently unable to work for the time being.

"Are you okay?"

"Urm," She cleared her throat. "Yeah, um… fine thanks?" It came out as more of a question than a statement.

The blonde's body instantly relaxed at her words, and she became aware that her _own_ muscles were actually quite tense.

"Sooooo, how are you?" _Wow, way to go Dupain-Cheng. Go and make this situation awkward._

A small smirk made its way onto Chat's face, and Marinette just knew - _knew -_ that he was going to say something that he thought was 'clever'. He had that 'let's-make-a-really-witty-quip' face on in which he oh so regularly used.

"Better now that I've crossed paths with you," _Called it. "_ Say, you don't suppose I could get a thank you for saving your life back there?"

"Pfft, you hardly 'saved my life' Chat Noir. And besides, with a cliche pick-up line like that, you've worn off your thanks."

" _Me-ouch!_ You wound me-" Chat's face suddenly contorted into a wince, as a rush of pain flew through his body.

Wait, what?

"Chat?" All joking thrown aside, Marinette rushed towards her partner, a look of worry and compassion on her features.

He took a stiff step backwards, brushing the girl off gently. "Nothing to worry about! This cat is _feline_ fine!"

Choosing to let the pun slide just this once, Marinette continued. "No. You're in pain, let me look at-"

Her eyes brushed over his spandex-clad form, hunting for the source of his pain. _Really_ , she reasoned, _this would be so much easier if this cat wasn't all stubborn and trying to hide his injuries from me._

"No! I'm okay!"

"No you're not! You're-" Her voice cut off.

 _Oh mon Dieu! His shoulder, it was-_

"Is that blood?" She gasped.

"No?"

"Chat, that's not a question you're supposed to answer with another question." Marinette's voice was firm, commanding even.

Chat Noir huffed indignantly, before removing his clawed hand from its spot on his shoulder blade. The fabric was torn and was very clearly tinted a dark scarlet red.

"It's really not that bad," He tried to reason, though Chat himself didn't sound entirely convinced. "Just a graze."

The raven head spluttered, tone rising. "Not that bad? _Not that bad?_ Chat, that's clearly not a graze! You've been cut!"

The superhero, a little taken aback by her outburst, rubbed the back of his neck. A nervous habit.

"Okay, yes it's a cut I got from earlier on. It's my patrol night tonight and I… I came across these two guys trying to break into this shop," He paused a moment, before carrying on. "Stopped them _of course_ , but one of them had this knife I didn't know about. Heh, that kind of surprised me."

A wave of irritation rushed over Marinette's body. Trust her partner to be so careless.

"But I'm a superhero! And I can handle this sort of stuff," Sounded like he was trying to assure himself more than her.

Marinette shot him a dubious look as she crossed her arms.

"You need to get that looked at."

"I know."

"Hmm…" She grew thoughtful. "What if I asked you to stay the night?"

"WHAT?!" Really, if it hadn't been for the situation, his expression would have been quite comical.

"You're injured, please stay the night."

"But I…"

"Please," She pleaded, eyes now interlocked with his. "My house isn't too far and I know a few things about stitching up injuries." This was actually true. Marinette spent a lot of time out on patrol and had gained herself a fair share of scratches and scrapes. Small injuries like that which she was unable to use _Lucky Charm_ for since it wasn't an akuma attack. She'd had to teach herself a little bit of first-aid as a result.

Chat's gaze gradually softened, thankfulness evident on his face.

"Okay then Princess," He waved a hand out in motion towards the street. "Lead the way."

 **—**

 **AN: Please pretend that the suits are not indestructible for the sake of this story. Thank you.**


	2. Day 2: Can I pick princess?

**"** **Can I pick one Princess?"**

 **"** **Well, considering I'm the only 'princess' in this room-"**

 **"…** **I was talking about the pastries, Marinette."**

 **(A direct sequel to the previous chapter).**

 **—**

Sneaking Chat into the house was no easy task.

He'd insisted on jumping in from her balcony, however Marinette had very passionately protested.

 _"_ _Chat, I will not have you put more pressure on that arm of yours."_

 _"_ _But-"_

 _She shot him a glare and which immediately caused him to shut up._

 _"_ _We are going to head in through the door, Chat. And no, don't look at me like that! Doors are absolutely fine. Us normal people use them all of the time."_

So here they were, at the front of the Dupain-Cheng bakery and fairly confused as to how they were actually going to get inside. As Marinette had already ruled out going in through her trapdoor, they were now only stuck with one other option. Through the main door.

But her patents may or may not have been awake… and if she bumped into them…

Well, she saw the situation going kind of like this:

 _"_ _Oh hey Maman, Papa! Oh, what's that? Why am I smuggling a superhero into my bedroom? No, reason. Why do you ask?"_

Yeah… no.

The last thing she needed to do was get her parents involved in this. They'd definitely freak when they saw she'd come home with a bleeding superhero when she'd only gone out to buy fabric.

Wait-

Her fabric!

A smug smile began to tug on her lips as she began to formulate her plan. A rather genius plan if she said so herself.

"Alright Chat!" She turned to her very uncomfortable looking partner, eyes gleaming. "I have a better idea."

 **—**

"Marinette! There you are. Me and Tom were starting to get worried," Sabine Cheng smiled as her daughter walked into the bakery, a massive roll of fabric being carried in her arms.

"Oh, there was a really, really long queue. Sorry I worried you Maman," Marinette paused, just as she almost reached the stairs.

"Hey, can I get some pastries?"

Sabine chuckled, holding out a plate full of freshly baked goods to her daughter. "Of course Marinette, what's the occasion?"

The girl's body tensed a moment before she replied. "Oh… it's just a stray cat I need to feed."

Concern rushed over Sabines features. _A cat? Visiting her on her balcony? That high up?_

"Marinette, you shouldn't feed cats pastry. It's not good for them," She scolded.

"Oh, right. I'll be sure to tell him that."

Sabine nodded in response. "Good, you wouldn't want him to get a tummy ache." She'd learned that mistake when she was younger. As a twelve-year-old, Sabine had had her own cat called 'Kiki'. Kiki had ended up taking a bite out of one of her pain du chocolat's, and let's just say _the results were not pretty_.

"Mhm," Marinette had Sabine balance the plate atop the fabric roll, before she turned and hurried up the stairs.

As she went up the steps, Sabine couldn't help but hear a groan come seemingly from the fabric… _or perhaps that was just her imagination?_ Because come on, surely no-one was dumb enough to invent _groaning fabric_ of all things.

 **—**

Chat huffed as Marinette unrolled him out of the stretch of fabric she'd bought from the shop a few streets down.

"Marinette, I would complain about how uncomfortable that situation was if I was not so surprised as to how you were able to carry me up a whole set of stairs. You can _lift_."

"Carrying bags of flour around the bakery has its upsides I guess," She shrugged, before opening up one of her drawers. Out of it she took what appeared to be a small, green box. Her first-aid kit.

The whole reason they were in this mess in the first place.

Chat Noir braced himself as she walked back towards him and seated herself on the chaise. A piece of damp cloth was held firmly in her other hand - and if she was planning on doing what he thought she was doing - this was going to sting.

A sharp pain began to emanate from his wound at once, making him pull back from her a smidge.

"Stay still Chat, I can't help you if you won't stay still," His gaze wandered over to his classmate, eyes fond. Marinette and her determined nature never ceased to amaze him. Although, after the events that were beginning to unfold that night, he was starting to hold an all new level of respect for her. The way she spoke to him in that alleyway (he really did enjoy sharing a short moment of banter with someone who usually stuttered like crazy around him) and her stubbornness when she realised that he was hurt. This girl was something alright.

… And it almost reminded him of a certain someone else.

"There we go. All finished."

Already?

Adrien turned to look at his shoulder blade to find that - yes - she had finished her work. His wound, although still painful, had now been cleaned and dressed neatly.

"You should probably take some painkillers too, to ease he pain," She continued, oblivious to his dazed state.

"Ah, right," He shook himself out of his thoughts before continuing. "I've got them at the ma - at home. _Somewhere_ …"

Chat hurriedly stood up, wandering towards her trap door. "I'll be on-" His voice broke off as he noticed the plate of bakery treats that Marinette's mother, Mrs Cheng, had given her daughter earlier.

"Can I pick one Princess?"

"Well, considering I'm the only 'princess' in this room-"

A moment of silence passed before Chat realised what Marinette had thought he'd said.

"… I was talking about the pastries, Marinette." Her cheeks turned a slight pink at his words, making her face ever more adorable.

 _Cute._

"So can I?" He reached out towards the plate only to be stopped by a hand.

"Ah but _Chaton_ , you heard my Maman. No pastries for stray cats I'm afraid," _Was this girl now flirting with him? Seriously? How could she go from blushy to flirty in a matter of seconds?_

Adrien hadn't even thought Marinette could get flirty.

"Chaton?" He murmured softly, confused as to where the name had come from. A grin then tugged at his lips as he decided to dismiss the name for the time being. "Aww princess, you're no fun."

"Eh," She took a bite out of a croissant, its soft but flaky pastry taunting him. "I can't really go against the wishes of my mother now, can I?"

He gave her a flat look. "Says the girl who smuggled me into her bedroom."

"Suppose you're right," She reasoned. "I guess it wouldn't hurt the stray cat to have _one_."

Adrien reached out and grabbed a cookie, stuffing it into his mouth. "Ou donth needph to ast mwe twith."

Marinette giggled at his garbled speech. A beautiful sound in which he honestly wished to hear more often.

He cleared his throat as he swallowed the last of the cookie. "I'm going to have to bid you adieu for now Marinette, thanks for your help though."

The girl frowned "What about your arm?"

Ah, right.

What about his arm?

He chuckled nervously, hoping she wouldn't notice. "It'll be fine I'm sure. I'm a superhero, remember!"

"Oh really now? I just thought you were wearing that catsuit for the sake of it."

He rolled his eyes playfully as he opened the latch to her trapdoor. A wave of fresh air greeted him from the outside as he jumped out and exited the girl's extremely pink room.

Although, he had a feeling that this wouldn't be the last time he'd be doing this.

(He was right, but that's a tale for another time).


	3. Day 3: Adopted Cat

**"** **Oh, Marinette?"**

 **"** **Yes Maman?"**

 **"** **Your father seems to have adopted a cat."**

Marinette was just leaving Alya's house when she received the call from her mother. A usual occurrence; if she had stayed out late enough, Sabine would always call her to make sure she was okay. So, as soon as her phone rang, Marinette was quick to reply.

"Marinette? Are you heading back from Alya's?"

"Yeah Maman, I'm halfway home now," Her mother breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good, just get home safely okay? With all of these Akumas as of late, I'd hate for you to get caught up in an attack," Yes, lately Hawkmoth had sent out a fair few to do his bidding. Perhaps he was becoming more desperate? …Or maybe he just wanted Marinette to fail in tests. She'd lost count of how many times she had to use the 'can I go to the bathroom?' excuse that week during the middle class. Her teachers were undoubtedly not pleased.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine!"

"Okay, I'll see you when you get back then," Marinette's finger hovered over 'end call' before she heard her mother's voice again, a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Oh, Marinette?"

"Yes Maman?"

"Your father seems to have adopted a cat." No sooner than Sabine spoke the words, the call ended, giving Marinette no time to question her further.

Okay sweet, guess they had a cat now-

 _Huh?_

 _DID SHE JUST SAY THEY HAD A CAT?!_

 ** _—_**

Marinette spent the rest of her walk in a complete silence, pondering over her mum's words.

This made absolutely no sense. None whatsoever. As a child, Marinette had asked time and time again for a cat, but her parents had always responded with a firm 'no'. Apparently, it just wouldn't be safe to have a cat in a bakery. It went against hygiene regulations. Her parents had also joked that she could barely care for herself, yet alone a cat, what with her clumsiness and all.

So why get one now?

 _Perhaps she had just imagined Sabine saying that?_

 _-OOF!_

The girl suddenly found herself face-to-face with a door.

Her own door.

 _Huh_ , she mused, taking a step backwards so that she no longer had her face squished up against the wood, _that was quick._

Hand now clasped around the doorknob, she entered the household, the smell of freshly baked bread hitting her. Ah, the privileges of living in a bakery.

"Marinette! There you are," She turned to the woman who'd spoken to her, a bright smile tugging at her lips.

"Yeah, it's me," Marinette giggled.

Sabine wrapped her arms around the dark-haired girl in at tight hug, before letting go and returning back to the conversation.

"I suppose you want to see the cat?"

 _Ah, so she wasn't imagining things._

"Urm, if that's okay?" She nervously twiddled her pigtails, curious as to what the cat would look like.

Personally, she hoped they were a kitten. Kittens were the cutest after all, with they adorable eyes, small paws and all of that fluffy fur! Would the cat have green eyes? Yes, she hoped for green eyes. Maybe they-

She shook herself from her trail of thoughts, going through the door to the living room that her mum was kindly holding open for her.

At first she only saw her Dad, Tom, busy cleaning dishes in the kitchen. Nearly all of them had been cleaned, via a small few.

Her eyes trailed further across the room, brow furrowed. _Where was this-_

 _Oh._

 _Mon Dieu._

 _Surely they hadn't._

She whipped her head around to her mother, expression far from amused.

"Maman, could you please explain to me why _Chat Noir_ of all people is in our house drinking hot chocolate?!"


	4. Day 4: Croissant Murder

**"** **I would absolutely** ** _murder_** **for a croissant, Princess."**

 **"…** **Please don't."**

* * *

"Soo… hi?" After staring at Chat in shock for about a minute, Marinette had rushed over to him, grabbing him by the arm with such force that if he hadn't been in costume, she would've easily left a mark. She murmured a quick apology to her parents for him causing them trouble before hauling him up the stairs.

Marinette sat him down upon her chase as she stood opposite him, arms crossed and expression determined. "You have thirty seconds to start explaining what exactly you're doing here Chat."

He let out an audible gulp, as his eyes darted everywhere but those of his classmate's. Jeez, she could be fierce! Forget about using their miraculouses to stop akumas, just set this girl on them and Hawkmoth would retire within minutes!

…Err, maybe not.

Putting a civilian in harms way would probably not be a good idea.

"Heh, could I at least finish my hot chocolate first?" He held up the mug filled with warm liquid in which he had miraculously still held on to.

Hah, _miraculously_.

"Chat _Noir_ ," Alright, this girl was not one to mess with.

"Okay then… You see, the thing is…"

* * *

 _He'd been bored out of his mind. Absolutely nothing at all to do. So, Adrien had decided to do the one thing he liked to do most in the in the world._

 _Run free as Chat Noir._

 _Of course, things hadn't turned out exactly the way he expected. Without meaning to, his black clad boots had taken him to (you guessed it) the Dupain-Cheng bakery. He'd had absolutely no idea why, it just happened. Perhaps it was overpoweringly sweet smell of baked goods emanating from it, or maybe it was Marinette's hospitality that drew him there. She had helped him out when he'd been stabbed a few weeks prior._

 _Nevertheless, he was here now._

 _"_ _Marinette?" He began to tap on her window, hoping for the girl to answer. "Princess, are you home?"_

 _It took a moment, but the window was opened. However, the person on the other side was obviously not marinette. Nope, standing on the other side of the window was Tom Dupain, Marinette's father._

 _Oops… he was so in trouble._

 _Chat leaped in shock, almost losing grip of his place on the windowsill._

 _"_ _Chat Noir? Are you here to visit my daughter again?" Tom questioned, breaking him out of his trance._

 _"_ _Oh, yes sir! In fact I-" With that, Adrien froze, giving the man a double take._

 _Did he just-_

 _"_ _Mr Dupain? You know?" This man was aware that he had been visiting his daughter as of late? And he was okay with it?_

 _The man chuckled, taking amusement in Chat's shock. "You two really are not subtle. And yes I am okay with it. At first I was sceptical, but you seem like a good boy. I know that my daughter will be safe with you."_

 _Chat Noir blushed at his praise, although it was partly in embarrassment that he'd done the whole 'thinking out loud' thing again._

 _"_ _Thank you sir!"_

 _"_ _Now now, son. There's no need for all that nonsense. Tom is fine," The man paused a moment, before continuing. "Would you like to come in? Marinette will be home soon."_

 _Chat's eyes lit up like diamonds, sparkling in the moonlight. Yes, he was happy to be invited in out of the cold, but it was more from what Tom had called him. Adrien had been called_ son _. A phrase in which he honestly didn't hear much nowadays."That would be great, thank you Mr- er I mean Tom."_

* * *

Marinette stared at the boy as he finished his story, arms slipping to her sides. _He hadn't purposefully meant to meet her parents? He didn't mean to mix her two separate lives together?_

"So nothing bad happened then?"

"… No… Why would there have?" Her partner gave her a befuddled glance.

"Well I- um. No reason," She muttered, tugging at her pigtails awkwardly, allowing her gaze to wander the room. Her eyes quickly settled on a plate in which her mother had brought up for her and left on her desk. "Hey, you want a croissant?"

Chat perked up at her words, happy to be changing subject (and for that subject to involve baked goods).

"I would absolutely _murder_ for a croissant, Princess."

"…Please don't," She rolled her eyes at his enthusiasm, as she brought over the plate. Marinette walked back towards her chaise, treading carefully so as to not drop them (she knew how terrible her luck could get).

"But Marinette! I haven't had pastry In ages!" He complained, cat eyes large and pleading.

"I literally fed you a few weeks ago."

"Yeah that was a _cookie_. Not pastry."

"Oh alright!" She crossed her legs in a business like manner as she took a seat next to him. "If you want to get technical!"

"It's true though!"

* * *

Tom and Sabine listened to the two teenagers through the trapdoor, both sharing a smile as they did so. With both their daughter and Chat Noir deep in conversation, they had failed to realise the two parents had their ears pressed up against the wood.

"Aww, they remind me of us when we were their age," Sabine cooed, biting back the urge to open the trapdoor and startle her daughter like she had similarly done when her other friends were over.

Tom's lips twitched. "I hope not, I'm fine with them talking to each other in there, but…"

Sabine Cheng gave him an eye roll, although her expression was still fond. "You just worry too much."

* * *

 **AN: Do I care that it isn't even May anymore? Not in the slightest. I'm still going to finish this... eventually.** ✧


End file.
